Three days had passed since Remesis attended the service. And Hannes Wrightly, who had been skeptical of the idea from the start, was surprised. Early in the morning, the commander of Fortress Nord delivered a letter to the Princess Consort's study, stating the Temple's agreement to provide support to the northern region.

  Within a week, about half a million thalers and several hundred thousand shekels were to arrive at the northern castle. The sum, to put it mildly, was not small. For such a rundown residence as Fortress Nord, these funds would be quite enough to feed the people for several years. Especially since there weren't that many servants.

  Moreover, this sum would also allow for initial repairs to the castle and the purchase of new weapons and ammunition. Currently, the guards had to use old swords that had long since dulled. The gunpowder supplies for the cannons on the outer walls were also almost exhausted. A little more, and they could indeed find themselves in a very dire position.

  Therefore, such an unexpected resolution to a serious problem naturally shocked the commander. In recent years, this was the first time the temple had formed an alliance with any house. And especially with the North.

  No matter how much the knight thought about it, he couldn't understand what could have happened during their brief meeting with the Head of the Temple… It must have been witchcraft.

  "Your Highness," the knight responded awkwardly, "allow me to ask, what did you do?"

  "Heh heh. I just had a heart-to-heart talk with His Eminence."

  "A heart-to-heart talk?" he repeated.

  "I told His Eminence about our situation, and he, in the kindness of his heart, offered to help us. It turns out there are still good priests in the temple."

  The knight fell silent and stared at her in surprise. Remesis, in turn, had no intention of continuing the explanation. Even if it looked suspicious, there was no other choice. After all, she couldn't really tell the truth, could she?

  The girl hadn't expected the answer to come so soon herself. She had reckoned the priest would need at least a few weeks to think it over. But he agreed almost immediately. It seemed he was truly frightened. Remesis smirked.

  "In five years, the Temple will fall," she had whispered then into the church head's ear.

  The confrontation, which had lasted for decades, obviously couldn't go on forever. Sooner or later, one side would prevail. And in Remesis's past life, that victory had been on the side of the Astrological Order. The Temple, in turn, had suffered a crushing defeat.

  All these years, believers had been like an annoying stain for Halias Alseid, who wanted to establish the sole influence of his faction over Nadal. And the day came when his patience ran out. It wasn't difficult for the Astrological Order to trample the Temple, which had no support, like some insect. A denunciation was made to the Emperor against the temple, claiming it was in a secret conspiracy with a hostile empire.

  The proof was letters allegedly intercepted from secret correspondence between the Holy Father and the head of the cultural department of a neighboring country… A lie that could easily have been exposed by a simple investigation. But the Emperor didn't bother to look into it.

  That's what Halias was counting on. No one cared about a long-forgotten and unwanted religion. The Church was accused of high treason and sentenced to dissolution. Overnight, hundreds of priests and priestesses found themselves on the street. And the Holy Father was executed as the main criminal…

  The news thundered throughout the empire like lightning.

  Remesis, who spent all her days in her room, didn't have many ways to obtain information from the outside world. But even this couldn't pass her by. The story immediately seemed suspicious to her. Perhaps because she already had her own prejudices regarding the Astrological Order.

  Remesis used this information as a decisive argument for the Holy Father. And to support her words not just with empty talk, she provided confidential data about the temple's activities, which after the "exposure" were made public. This could easily be read in the newspaper.

  When the Holy Father first heard about this, he was shocked. Even more incredible was that this information was possessed by a little girl who could not have obtained it from outside in any way. So either she could see the future, or she had truly been reborn… It was hard to believe. But worst of all was simply resigning oneself to such a fate. The very thought of complete destruction instilled immense terror in the priest. Not without hesitation, he nevertheless decided to take the risk and enter into an agreement with the Princess of the North.

  The material support provided by the temple would at least be enough to keep them from starving to death in the next few years. Remesis, for her part, intended to reciprocate and support the Temple when the time came. In five years, the northern region would gain enough influence that the Emperor couldn't disregard their words. So it was a mutually beneficial partnership.

  This entire plan had formed in Remesis's head in the shortest possible time, and now she was pleased with herself, examining the tempting financial sums specified in the contract. The girl signed her copy of the agreement and gave it to the knight to send to the Temple.

  Hannes, looking at the Princess Consort's satisfied face, just shook his head. "It seems asking really is useless…" However, this news definitely pleased him too. It was always nice to know there would be something to eat tomorrow. The knight received all the necessary instructions from Remesis before leaving the study.

  After Remesis took a break from work, she and Asil resumed their lessons. Remesis gave the princess a few more assignments, which the girl set about solving. Remesis was a very meticulous teacher and patiently explained all the grammar rules to Asil. Fortunately, she didn't have to put much effort into it. The princess was a capable student.

  While waiting for Asil to finish the exercises, Remesis returned to her desk and continued sorting through reports.

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  Scratch, scratch…

  The princess breathed heavily, putting the tip of her pen in her mouth when she thought about writing certain speech constructions. She wrote a few words, then stopped and glanced at Remesis. Then she wrote a few more phrases and cast another glance at the girl. Asil engaged in this silent observation throughout all the lessons, and it was so obvious that Remesis couldn't help but notice it. However, she had long since gotten used to it and simply pretended to be completely absorbed in work.

  They didn't leave the study until the sky outside the window turned crimson with sunset. Only then did Remesis finally show her face outside, and Asil, as if on command, followed her. They had dinner, after which they began to get ready for bed as usual. In the North, it got dark very early, so the girl saw no need to stay up late and waste candles. Instead, she preferred to get up early.

  In the bathroom, they washed, brushed their teeth, and Remesis also applied essential oil to her hair. Where it came from was a mystery, but the girl had accidentally found it among the remaining supplies. In any case, she decided not to let good things go to waste and performed this care procedure every evening.

  They would lie in bed, and sometimes, when Asil had insomnia, Remesis would read her fairy tales before bed. Though, Remesis couldn't understand how that was possible. After a whole day's work, the girl barely had the strength to get to bed. But the princess still had plenty of energy left.

  In any case, today was one of those days.

  Remesis found the only children's book in the northern castle's library. There weren't many books left there. The library, like the rest of the castle's premises, had been looted many years ago. So the girl made do with what there was.

  Remesis sat in bed with the book, and Asil perched next to her. She looked over her shoulder.

  "So," the girl said aloud, flipping through the table of contents, "today I'll read the fairy tale about 'The Prince and the Seven Dwarfs'…"

  "Done," Asil interrupted her.

  "Then 'The Nightingale and the Robber'."

  "Done."

  "Uh… 'Audrey in the Land of Oranges'."

  "Done."

  The princess continued to babble the same word as Remesis read out the titles of the fairy tales. Finally, reaching the last line of the contents, she gave up.

  "So I've already read everything? That quickly?" she was stunned. The book wasn't that thick.

  What to do? This book contained all the most popular fairy tales of the empire, and Remesis didn't know any others. The girl was stumped.

  "Well…" Remesis coughed awkwardly. "Then I'll ask Hannes to find something in the city tomorrow. Today we'll just go to sleep."

  "No, no!"

  "Hmm?"

  "I don't want… I don't want to sleep…" she muttered discontentedly.

  Remesis sighed. Asil's drooping face made her think that a fairy tale really was necessary today. Trying to remember what else could be told to a child before bed, Remesis suddenly thought of something.

  "Your Highness, do you know 'The Legend of the Three Brothers'?" she asked.

  The princess shook her head.

  Remesis made up her mind. Although this story could hardly be called a children's tale.

  The Legend of the Three Brothers was also the legend of the founding of the Astrological Order. In short, not the most engaging reading. However, it didn't matter what one fell asleep to, right? This would do.

  Remesis cleared her throat before beginning the narrative.

  "Well, this story happened many centuries ago…"

  It was said that five hundred years ago, the Nadal Empire was just one of the weaker countries. An insignificant state, forced to pay tribute to the strong and grovel before allies. This state of affairs persisted for a very long time, until one day, one of the large military republics wanted to absorb Nadal. This became a turning point in the state's fate — would Nadal become an empire of slaves, or would it be able to defend its independence.

  And during this difficult period for the country, the then Emperor, Roven Netari Ashelot, was choosing which of his sons would lead the army and go to war. The empire had three princes: the eldest Selim, the middle Amon, and the youngest Kizar. Since the fate of the country depended on this decision, the Emperor couldn't decide for a long time who could take on this burden.

  At that time, a mysterious man appeared in the state, who, by his own assertion, could predict the future. This man requested an audience with the Emperor, and the Emperor, interested in his abilities, invited him. At that time, Roven didn't shy away from any means to gain any advantage over the enemy.

  But as soon as the Emperor learned that the eccentric divined by the stars, he ridiculed him. "Nonsense! How can I entrust the fate of my people to some dots in the sky?" While everyone else advised the Emperor to make the eldest prince commander-inchief, he unexpectedly put forward the youngest's candidacy. According to him, Prince Kizar was gifted with a lucky star and it was destined for him to achieve victory and bring greatness to the empire.

  But the Emperor just twirled his finger at his temple. His youngest son had only recently turned sixteen. Compared to his elder brothers, who already had combat experience, he had participated in nothing but field training. How could such an inexperienced boy win such a large-scale war? In other words, Roven didn't take the stranger's words seriously and simply threw him out.

  As a result, the eldest prince went to war. However, within a month, the young man died. The middle one followed. But he too met a sad fate. Only the youngest prince remained. It was hard for Roven to part with his last remaining son, but in the end, he let him go as well.

  Kizar went to war and disappeared. For about six months, there was no news of him. Then everyone decided he too had died. The Emperor went mad with grief. All his sons were dead, and the empire was now completely doomed. But… Unexpectedly, soon news began to arrive one after another. It turned out that the difficult war with the enemy empire was already over. And a completely unexpected side had won it.

  The youngest prince returned to the empire a hero, having managed to put an end to his homeland's long-standing oppression. Kizar was called a warrior blessed by an unknown force, because during the war he hadn't received a single serious wound. As if the heavens themselves protected him… Then the Emperor came to his senses and ordered the man to be found again.

  He appeared at the palace, and the Emperor invited him into his service. Thus, the mysterious sage from nowhere became a confidant of the ruling family. An era began which was called the dawn of the Nadal Empire. During his lifetime, this man founded the Astrological Order, and more and more people joined his teachings.

  His name was Vissarion Alseid.

  Until the end of his life, the Emperor consulted with him on all matters and relied on his horoscopes. In the end, he even added the Alseid family to the three great families, which previously included only the founders of the empire. People sincerely came to believe that it was the lucky star with which the youngest prince was gifted that brought glory to their empire. Starting with the imperial family, all nobles began to order horoscopes for their children. And so it continued to the present day.

  When Remesis heard this legend back in her past life, she was puzzled. Wasn't it… Wasn't it just a coincidence? Maybe that prince really was a capable warrior and outstanding strategist, and all his merits were simply attributed to the stars? However, the Emperor of that time, apparently, didn't think much about it when he gave the goahead for the development of this pseudo-cult in his country.

  After all, it had always been like that throughout the ages. People always wanted to believe in something. First it was the temple and god, then the fashion for astrology appeared… People were much more willing to believe in some higher powers than to acknowledge human achievements. This was what always upset Remesis the most.

  It turned out that the Princess Consort had become so engrossed in retelling the legend that she even forgot the time. She came to her senses only when Asil was already asleep next to her. The sleeping face of the princess showed complete serenity.

  The girl involuntarily smiled at this sight, as her own eyes were already closing from fatigue. She yawned and lay down on the adjacent pillow. Asil wrapped her arm around her in her sleep.

  It was night in Fortress Nord, and the northern wind did not cease outside the window.